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A few weeks ago I went on a beautiful 4 day Moroccan adventure with my mother and step-father. It was so much fun to take them to one of my favourite places on earth and show them how much the country has to offer everyone who visits.

And I have to admit that they were some of the most gracious, enthusiastic and laid-back travel companions I’ve ever had.

The food, the countryside, the people, the culture, the weather, the cities…we saw and did so much in such a short time and it was absolutely lovely.

Here are a few of my favourite images from our time in the Moroccan mountains…

Small colourful shops at the famous Kasbah of Ait Ben Haddou.

This woman makes the most delicious bread known to mankind.

Typical Moroccan decor. Simple but colourful and warm.

The perfect spot for lunch with views on the mountains, a lush green oasis and blooming bougainvillaea in every colour.

The oasis of Flint, Morocco.

A visit to a typical weekly market near Ouarzazate, This truck full of oranges was amazing. So was the truck full of peas a little further down.

Jazz hands. Cactus style.

My mother and I hiked up a steep mountain to get to this abandoned kasbah. It was physically hard for her but she trudged through it and really pushed herself. I was so proud of her for persevering through the fatigue and pain and reaching the top. And I’m pretty sure she was tempted to push me down the mountain more than several times (I’ll admit it, I have a slight Drill Sergeant style while motivating people to push through pain).

My husband saw me eyeing these large colourful embroidered umbrellas and said “too bad it would be impossible to bring one home”. I took it as a challenge and successfully got one home. Maybe even more than one.

The impressive Amer Fort in Jaipur. Once again my son made eye contact with a monkey who jumped on his back and started punching him. I spent two weeks screeching ” for the love of Lucy STOP making eye contact with the blasted monkeys!!”.They’re everywhere. Luckily.

One of the most stylish hairdressers I’ve ever come across. I’d love a few of those chairs for my living-room.One of the favourite past-times for kids in India is kite flying. From almost every rooftop you can see little children with with their arms stretched skywards and their colourful kites floating high above. My kids bought some kites made from chip bags for 5cents in a tiny town in the countryside and flew them off the roof-top of one of our hotels. A highlight of the trip for them and a reminder to me that sometimes it’s the simple things that bring so much pleasure.

Hawa Mahal in Jaipur. Looks peaceful in this photo but the traffic right in front of it is absolutely nuts. I almost died crossing the street to take this photo.More garland threading. Never gets old.

Boiling block printed fabrics in indigo pots.

Our car and driver for our trip to Bagru. This guy was the epitome of cool and classy. And that car was spotless and in mint condition. Until my kids spent the day in it.

The other day I was perusing Expedia for flights (one of my favourite ways to pass a cozy winter evening) and I was so tempted to book a trip to India. Luckily my husband was sitting next to me and gave me one of his “are you off your head?” looks and I managed to not press PURCHASE. I don’t know how long I’ll be able to resist though.

Here is the next batch of my favourite images from our recent trip to Delhi and Rajasthan.

I’m pretty sure this guy is paid to sit at the Jodhpur Fort and smoke his pipe. And I’m also pretty sure there are thousands upon thousands of photos of him out there in the world.I loved this little girl’s brightly coloured outfit. She was swirling around and giggling and generally making everyone in her vicinity smile and feel happy.One of my all time favourite things about India has to be the decorated trucks you see everywhere you go. The time and effort that the drivers put into embellishing their trucks with stickers, tassels, garlands and pompoms and hand-painting the bumpers is unbelievable. I asked one of our drivers to stop at a roadside “Truck Decoration” shops and I bought a suitcase full of all of the above. Judging from the owner’s reaction I’m pretty sure I was the first tall blond female customer to enter his shop. Woman doing her daily washing in the Rajasthan countryside.

Our bicycle rickshaws in the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary.

Even pigeons like to photo bomb. Amer Fort, Jaipur.

Rest time. Jodhpur. The Blue City.Indigo pit. Twenty metres deep. I had to keep a hold of my son because he was way too interested in finding out if it was indeed twenty metres deep. Bagru, India.

Our breakfast table at our hotel in Udaipur. You can see the famous Lake Palace Hotel in the background (remember it from Octopussy?).

A little over a year ago I posted here about the non-profit grassroots project called Days For Girls. I had just started up Italy’s first (and only) team and was really excited and full of ideas of how I could build up a community of women who would be willing to help me help girls around the world manage their monthly menstrual cycles with ease and dignity.

I’ll be honest, at the beginning it felt slightly awkward talking so openly about periods, pads and menstrual flow with complete strangers. But I’m happy to say that I am now 100% comfortable talking about every detail of women’s reproductive systems with everyone from the local baker to my car mechanic.

For those of you who have never heard of Days For Girls I’ll quickly re-cap what the project is all about.

Days For Girls was started by Celeste Mergens in 2008 after working in a Kenyan orphanage and noticing that a lot of the girls weren’t educated about their menstrual cycles nor equipped to deal with it.

Soon thereafter Celeste started up Days For Girls which is an incredible and supportive network of volunteers around the world who make and put together re-usable menstruation kits that are then delivered to girls in need in over 60 countries around the world (over 60,000 kits have already been delivered).

These kits last for approximately three years and have literally changed the lives of girls and women who before had to miss school or work due to their periods. This in turn has helped lower school drop-out rates in many areas as well as less loss income for days missed at work. So much good!

This project has come to mean so much to me over the last year. I’ve introduced Days For Girls at many local clubs and events and have always had so much enthusiasm from everyone I’ve met. Even the sweet and hilarious 85 year old man who kept insisting that they would make perfect pencil holders before realising their real use.

One of the most common reactions I see from people as I explain the project is the feeling of shock when they realise that they had never actually thought about this problem before. We think of helping people with food, water, clothing and shelter but rarely does it come to mind to help girls deal with monthly menstruation and educate them about women’s health and the female reproductive system. To hear more about our Indian kit delivery and see photos click to read on… Continue reading →

After a whole week of being sick with a really bad stomach flu (like REALLY bad) I finally feel like a human being again.

Last week I didn’t even have enough energy to plug in my hard drive and wade through my India photos. If you know me you’ll understand that means that I was practically on my death bed (have I ever mentioned I tend to exaggerate a teeny tiny bit at times?).

But I’m feeling good today and managed to put together the next set of my favourite images from our recent trip to India. Sometimes I can almost taste and smell the memories of that trip just by looking at the photos. Love that so much.

Tasseled pillows in the market place. I resisted. And I regret it so much.

Miniature eggplants and the sweetest red carrots you’ll ever eat.

Basket of flower garlands ready for the temple.

This woman had so much character. My kids were terrified of her though.

We were so fortunate to have a guided private tour of this old palace in Deeg. The ornamental tiger cage (for live pet tiger) was a favourite feature. The kids spent hours running throughout the grounds, jumping over fountains, avoiding gangs of monkeys and having the time of their lives with their friends. A favourite day on our trip in India.

While visiting the fort in Jodphur we came across this sweet little parakeet. He was the most curious little guy who seemed to love getting his photo taken. If you’re interested I have about 659 other photos of him…

This is his shy pose. I almost can’t look at this photo because of the sadness of not being able to get a hot syrupy bowl of Gulab Jamun is too much to bear. There is nothing like it on earth.

I’ve been slowly making my way through more of the thousands of photos from our India trip. Sorting, editing, deleting and putting them in all sorts of absurd and confusing folders on my laptop. Unfortunately this will drive my husband crazy when it’s time to start making our photo book in the near future.

One of my major goals for 2015 is to master a system to organise and store all my photos. I break out in a sweat just thinking about it. Please, wish me luck.

Here is the next batch of my favourite shots from our trip.

Can you spot the two turbaned men in white?

A little urban garden in the courtyard of a palace guesthouse. I contemplated stealing those flags. But resisted. (Ghanerao)

Woman at temple in Udaipur.

Expect to see fresh floral garlands in every single on of these Indian Snapshot posts. These garlands were adorning the holy motorcycle shrine that I mentioned in the last post.

He pulled this pipe out of his turban and asked me to take a photo of him pretending to smoke it. I’m still wondering what else he has stored in his turban. (Ghanerao)

Found this shot on my camera. Taken by my daughter who has obviously adopted my love of photographing her feet.

Perfect spot for some spiced chai first thing in them morning. (Ghanerao)

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I don’t know what these little steps along this blue wall were for (they are overlooking a lake). But right after I took this photo they were covered with frolicking monkeys trying to make eye contact with us. (Deeg Palace)

I wanted to get a shot of him entering this little room. This is what he gave me. (Agra Fort)

Like this:

As some of you may know we just got back from an absolutely amazing two weeks in India. It was such an invigorating (and at times slightly chaotic) trip for the five of us.

From the minute we arrived in Delhi all of our senses were on over-drive and we loved it. Not everybody does, I know. Visiting India is one of those manic experiences that has you on your toes every second of the day.

The range of emotions that one feels while visiting India is vast. There is is always something to marvel at, something that makes you cringe, something that makes you catch your breath, something that makes you look away, something that brings tears to your eyes, something that puts a wide grin on your face or something that makes you realise how fortunate you are to have such a comfortable and happy life.

But more than anything India offers so much beauty and colour.

Visiting India can sometimes feel like an emotional roller coaster. But in the best way possible.

As I did last year for our trip to Morocco, I’ll be posting a series of my favourite images of our trip over the next few weeks.

Enjoy!

This sweet old woman loved having her photo taken and was delighted when I showed her the image on the screen of my camera. We bought the loveliest flower garland from her to leave at the nearby shrine and then we passed out Kinder chocolates to all of her grandkids, She giggled the entire time. (village of Ghanerao)

I can’t even begin to count the amount of doors and entryways that I fell in love with during our time in India. Indians know how to combine colours like no other people on earth. The brighter the better. Words to live by in my books. (Ghanerao, India)

A tiny temple dedicated to Hanuman, the monkey god. The colours, the garlands, the posters, the man handing out milk sweets. Perfection. (Deeg Palace)

As I mentioned on IG during our trip, India deteriorates in the most delicate and beautiful manner. The layers of pastel coloured chipped paint made my heart skip a beat. It even matched the stagnant lake water (that was most likely hosting more than a few diseases). (Deeg Palace)

India was covered in beautiful bougainvillea while we were visiting. Everything from hot pinks to soft oranges to vibrant yellows.

Bells, garlands, saris, turbans, prayer strings, bindis, drummers, flowers and three kids who were taking it all in in awe. Image taken at the infamous Om Banna Shrine (dedicated to a holy motorcycle) outside Jodhpur.

A really friendly old man who seemed to think I was nuts to want to photograph him. Next time I’ll include a photo of his friend sitting next to him who kept fishing large items out of his massive red turban. (Ghanerao, India)